Starting February 2025, new policies and regulations take effect, granting sanitation workers the right to inspect household waste bags and refuse collection if the waste is not properly sorted.

On December 19, 2024, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued Circular 35, effective from February 3, detailing technical procedures for the collection, transportation, and treatment of solid household waste.

Notably, the circular stipulates that manual waste collectors from households and individuals can refuse to collect unsorted waste, waste not placed in designated packaging or containers as required by local authorities, or waste that does not match the specified type according to the announced collection schedule.

The technical procedures for solid household waste collection, transportation, and treatment include:

Technical procedures for collecting and transporting solid household waste.

Technical procedures for operating sorting stations for recyclable and reusable waste and transferring solid household waste.

Technical procedures for treating solid household waste.

Fines of up to VND 100 million for forcing insurance purchases; insurance advertisements must be truthful

The government has issued Decree 174, regulating administrative penalties in the insurance business sector, effective from February 15.

This decree outlines administrative violations in the insurance business sector, where organizations and individuals committing violations will be subject to monetary fines.

The monetary penalty for organizations is double that of individuals for the same violation. The maximum fine for individuals violating administrative regulations in the insurance sector is VND 100 million, while for organizations, it is VND 200 million.

Additionally, supplementary penalties include temporary suspension of operations.

Among the violations, fraud in insurance claims and financial misconduct are considered the most severe. Acts such as colluding with beneficiaries to misappropriate insurance funds, falsifying documents, or deliberately distorting information to deny claims will be subject to penalties proportional to the damage caused.

The decree also introduces strict sanctions against practices harming insurance buyers' rights. If businesses fail to clearly explain benefits, obligations, or exclusion clauses, they may face fines of up to VND 100 million. Similarly, false advertising of insurance products or violations of brokerage management regulations could result in fines of up to VND 180 million.

Electricity prices to follow market mechanisms

The revised Electricity Law, passed by the National Assembly in November 2024, takes effect on February 14.

Accordingly, retail electricity prices are determined by the electricity retailers based on pricing policies, price brackets for average retail electricity prices, mechanisms for adjusting average retail electricity prices, and structured retail electricity tariffs.

Retail electricity prices are detailed for each customer group according to economic and social conditions in each period and the level of competition in the electricity market.

For residential electricity users, a tiered pricing system applies to those ineligible or unwilling to participate in the competitive electricity market.

In a draft decree on electricity price adjustment mechanisms currently under public consultation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes shortening the adjustment cycle for average retail electricity prices from the current three months to two months from the last adjustment. Price adjustments will be implemented when electricity production costs fluctuate by 2% or more, lower than the current 3% threshold.

Private tutoring must register as a business

The Ministry of Education and Training has issued Circular 29/2024 on private tutoring, effective from February 14.

The circular mandates that individuals and organizations providing private tutoring services for a fee outside of schools must register as businesses under the Enterprise Law's regulations.

Tutoring businesses must also publicly disclose information on their websites or at their premises, including subjects taught, teaching duration, location, format, schedules, list of tutors, and tuition fees before enrolling students.

Certain cases are prohibited from organizing private tutoring, including:

No tutoring for primary school students, except for training in arts, sports, or life skills.

Teachers currently employed in schools are not allowed to tutor their own students for a fee outside of school-provided education plans.

Tran Thuong